The success of a staged event depends heavily on creating the proper environment for the performers. It is necessary that performers be provided with an environment suited to their requirements. It is also necessary to create an environment that meets the requirements of the audience, both those present at a live performance, and those viewing and/or listening to the performance via electronic media, either as a live stream or recording. A complex system of lighting, audio and video devices and equipment is assembled at the venue to satisfy these requirements. Many of these components are mounted on a structure that may be suspended above the stage via cables attached to the structure of the facility housing the event, or to a free standing structure created for that purpose.
Designing and assembling the complex system of audio/video (A/V) components required to provide a suitable environment is accomplished in the following manner. The requirements for the particular event are determined and a plan of the site is created, generally using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program. Typical of such programs is Vectorworks by Nemetchek Software (Munich, Germany). After the ground plan is created, the rigging points are located within the structure to which the suspending cables will be attached. Based on this information and the site plan, a system of truss assemblies is designed and added to the plan. Thereafter, lighting designers, audio technicians and video designers each determine their requirements and the locations for lighting units, audio speakers and video equipment (e.g., projectors, Light Emitting Diode (LED) screens, projection screens and the like) on the truss structure. The assembled equipment placement information is input to the CAD program, including for each device its type, circuit number, address and any other necessary information. Thereafter, detailed drawings and weight information are created and provided to the riggers responsible for suspending the truss structure for review and approval. Following approval, the detailed plan is given to the crew that will be constructing the truss structure and locating equipment on the trusses.
Truss assemblies are elongate structures on which various lighting, sound and video devices must be precisely located and positioned. Positioning such components on a truss assembly is accomplished using an elongate template (commonly referred to as a “truss tape”) on which the locations and types of devices are indicated. After the specified devices are mounted on the trusses and tested, the trusses are suspended at the proper height above the stage in preparation for the event.
At present, the elongate templates used to locate A/V components on a truss are created manually. Namely, the component specifications are printed on stickers that are manually applied to the elongate medium, with locations determined using measuring tapes. Elongate media frequently used include, but are not limited to drywall tape, polymeric barrier tapes commonly used for limiting access or posting warnings, or woven polymeric web material.
Preparing these elongate templates is both time-consuming and prone to errors, since the templates are created manually from written materials. Errors in the location or in the equipment specified may lead to significant delays, particularly if the errors are discovered after the truss assembly is suspended to its final height prior to discovering the error. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a more precise method for positioning A/V components on an elongate structure, such as a truss, that utilizes a printer-generated, full-scale detailed schematic, thereby eliminating the requirement for manually producing elongate templates or “truss tapes” along with the time and errors associated therewith.